MIPTV Announces Speakers for Advertising, Mobile Media Days

PARIS, February 29: At
this year’s MIPTV featuring MILIA, Mattel Brands’ Richard
Dickson has been tapped to deliver the keynote speech to close Advertising
& Media Day on Tuesday, April 8, while Ogilvy Group’s Rory Sutherland will
give the opening speech on Mobile Media Day on Wednesday, April 9.

In his keynote speech,
entitled “The Evolution of a Living Brand,” Dickson, the senior VP of worldwide
marketing, media and entertainment at Mattel Brands, will share his experience
in evolving an American icon, Barbie, to continue to stay relevant after 50
years of existence. He will also explore how Mattel is harnessing its
intellectual property to challenge how brands and media will work together to
engage today’s digital consumer. Dickson’s keynote will close the Advertising
& Media Day, which will gather major brands and advertising agencies with
entertainment-content producers and distributors.

Sutherland, the vice
chairman of Ogilvy Group, will open Mobile Media Day with a speech entitled
“Engaging the Consumers in New Ways: The Power of Mobile.” He will examine how
mobile can play a unique and important role in engaging consumers with brands,
through personalized or location-specific advertising content.

Ogilvy will also be the
first advertising agency to exhibit at MIPTV featuring MILIA and is a sponsor
of the advertising and media conference track that will take place on April 8.
For the second year, Ogilvy will sponsor a category in Content 360, MIPTV’s
international cross-media competition. Ogilvy’s category, entitled “Using the
Power of the Brand for the Power of Good,” has attracted more than 100 projects
from 27 countries this year and has already drawn interest from brands like
American Express, Fanta, Ford, BP and Dove. The competition’s goal is to
champion the potential of new-media producers worldwide and help them deliver
innovative digital services and applications.

Paul Johnson, the director
of the television division for Reed MIDEM, said: “All of the distribution
solutions, whether they are traditional or digital, will increasingly need a
strong advertising partner in order to succeed in a cross-platform world. The
growth of advertising agencies and brands participating at MIPTV featuring
MILIA 2008 reflects their sincere desire to join the entertainment-content
production and distribution players—at a development stage—as
strategic partners.”

—By Irene Lew